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Corey Booker, Liz Warren and Kamala Harris all responding-
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/biden-cites-segregationist-senators-he-recalls-past-civility-senate-n1019211Joe Biden, recalling the "civility" of the Senate in the 1970s and '80s, on Tuesday touted his experience working with two segregationist Southern senators to get "things done" — unleashing a torrent of criticism from his Democratic rivals, some of whom denounced the comments in very personal terms by citing their own race.
Speaking at a fundraiser at New York City's Carlyle Hotel, Biden brought up the names of Sens. James Eastland of Mississippi and Herman Talmadge of Georgia, both Democrats who were staunchly opposed to desegregation. Eastland chaired the Senate Judiciary Committee when Biden entered the Senate — a committee he would later chair.
"I was in a caucus with James O. Eastland," the former vice president said. "He never called me 'boy.' He always called me 'son.'"
Of Talmadge, Biden said he was "one of the meanest guys I ever knew, you go down the list of all these guys."
Another Democratic candidate, Sen. Cory Booker, who is African American, called on Biden to apologize.
"You don't joke about calling black men ‘boys.’ Men like James O. Eastland used words like that, and the racist policies that accompanied them, to perpetuate white supremacy and strip black Americans of our very humanity," Booker said in a statement.
"Vice President Biden’s relationships with proud segregationists are not the model for how we make America a safer and more inclusive place for black people, and for everyone," Booker added. "I have to tell Vice President Biden, as someone I respect, that he is wrong for using his relationships with Eastland and Talmadge as examples of how to bring our country together."
Later Wednesday, Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Kamala Harris — both presidential contenders — responded to Biden's comments.
"I’m not here to criticize other Democrats, but it's never OK to celebrate segregationists," Warren said. "Never."
Harris said she was "deeply" concerned about Biden's remarks.